The victim’s mother, second from right, waits to hear news of her son, who was shot in the upper body Thursday in his house at 4860 81st Ave. N in Pinellas Park. She later learned that he had died after being taken to Northside Hospital.

PINELLAS PARK — A 16-year-old boy was shot to death during a home invasion Thursday night.

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Pinellas Park police said Jeremy Lamar Long was slain in his home in the 4800 block of 81st Avenue N. Police said a gunman entered the home's unlocked front door and shot the boy in the upper body about 8:30 p.m.

Police said Long, a student at Richard L. Sanders School, was in the home with friends and relatives, including his 5-year-old sister, at the time of the attack. Neighbors reported hearing one shot.

Long's uncle, Karl Woodard, said the attacker held a gun to his head before fleeing.

"I felt the cold from the gun on my forehead," Woodard said.

Police were summoned to the home and found the wounded teen in a bedroom. Officers and paramedics treated Long and transported him to Northside Hospital, where he died.

The boy's mother, Montrice Woodard, collapsed in tears outside the home when told her son was dead.

Police described the gunman as black, standing about 6-feet-2 and weighing about 200 pounds. He wore a silver, hooded sweatshirt over his head.

The gunman climbed into a car that had another male inside. The car, which had been backed into the driveway, took off down 81st Avenue toward 49th Street, police said.

Police described the car as a silver Honda Accord or Civic with dark-tinted windows. They said the car was a 1991 to 1995 model with a loud exhaust.

Nearby residents said the neighborhood has struggled with drug problems in the last year.